Valley of Tears

Let's get the negatives out of the way first.

Yes, the geek kid is extremely annoying. But his character does experience growth. So there's that. Also, the guy playing Caspi over acts as well.

As to people moaning about bad dubbing, why are you watching a dubbed version? NEVER watch dubbed versions of anything. On Netflix, in particular, every show that is dubbed is awful. Great shows like "Money Heist" and "Babylon Berlin" sound like high school productions if you watch them dubbed. And, yes, there is both a dubbed version and an original language version available of "Valley of Tears" on HBO Max. So, stop complaining if you're not watching with subtitles.

But, all that aside, this is a pretty mesmerizing show. It really sucks you into the moment in time. Many of the details are accurate depictions of the chaos and noise, fear and horror of war. No, not everyone marches into battle like John Wayne or leads troops expertly like George Patton. I appreciate the reality of it all. Together with "1917," these are two of the best anti-war films in a long time. And, yes, pretty much all war films are anti-war films.

The dialect as spoken is with an accent as if the actors rarely if ever speak it. The expressions are though from the 70s as some expressions have changed. Great movie. Great acting. Sometimes it felt surreal: major invasion yet folks take the time to do some touring in a nice car, especially given the geography of the place, i.e. the shelling is within kms of the ride. Avinoam, this is what I am going to start screaming at any homo sapien that is so dysfunctional that every person around him wants to be the first to unload 6 bullets into him. Really hard to imagine that IDF leadership would have asked that 'psychology' person to do anything that would have decided the fate of soldiers. In a way, I thought of that imagined character as an illustration of: only the mental cases were worried about the next war while the political leadership was oblivious in its arrogance. A few seconds from Dayan in the movie led to me to this impression. I loved the background noise/story about sepharades vs. ashkenazi, the diversity of Israel back then ( and now ), reminding us this was a time when only 20-30 years had elapsed since jews from completely different planets came together ( Moroccans vs. Poles ). Some scenes were hyper powerful, i.e. the thirsty man. And what the soldier responded to Avinoam when Avinoam criticized his action. What the series fails to represent: the scale of this attack. I felt like we were in a bubble. I am left wondering why they did not showcase politicians. Maybe a Season 2?

From a Moroccan!

I'm military and have been to the Golan, and also read my bit about the war in '73. This was a chaotic war, poorly prepared for and intelligence largely ignored. More than anything, this war showed how crucial training levels and personal initiatives are. Vastly outnumbered, no strategic depth, and horribly unprepared. It shouldn't have been possible to turn that war. The series seem to catch what I can only imagine would have been a frightening battle on the brink of the abyss.

Highly recommend watching this in Hebrew with subtitles, the dubbed version doesn't do it justice. A great insight into the war especially for those of us that weren't born when it happened. Think Israeli Band of Brothers. Poignant moment when two young innocent Arab and Israeli kids meet, really illustrates the futility of war. I sense the directors really tried not to glorify the cause of either side and deserve great credit for doing so.

This series is very well done from the point of realism. One certainly gets the feel of being in battle with people fighting for their very right to exist. The war was hard on all sides and resulted in loss of life. The personal stories are very dramatic. Bear in mind however that this is a soap opera so be prepared for very melodramatic and "soapy" dialog! The worst thing one could say about the series would be the toupees used to evoke the 1970s feel really looked a bit silly. However it did not detract from the excellence of the production. It is well worth the watch and it helps if you know the back story to the war and the culture of the region. Do not under any circumstances watch the dubbed version! Watch only the original version in Hebrew and Arabic and read the subtitles!